What could be a plausible date of completion for the Baghdad Railway, in an early CP-Victory or no WW1 scenario? The Iraqis comletet "their" part from 1936 to 1940, but I don't know if that was the only part left. So is four years, from late 1914 to (if we add a few months) 1919, enough time to complete it?
Baghdad Railway completion
- Thread starter Askanas
- Start date
Cook
Banned
Well when Allenby was crossing the Sinai in 1916 he was laying a rail line to bring up supplies from the Suez Canal and was averaging 1 mile per day.
During the war the Germans placed a great deal of importance in the Berlin to Bagdad railway because it was the only way of undermining the British Empire. It depends on the urgency of it after the war.
During the war the Germans placed a great deal of importance in the Berlin to Bagdad railway because it was the only way of undermining the British Empire. It depends on the urgency of it after the war.
"The British knew the importance of the Berlin to Baghdad railway, not only because it meant a German businessman could be in Baghdad ready to invest within a week but because the British simply knew they couldn't compete, offering only the Sarajevo to Basra Replacement bus service,"
-Rob Newman.
-Rob Newman.
Probably about 1920, based on the fact the hardest part was the drilling of the Taurus tunnels was completed about August 1918 (with some war time urgency, offset by some wartime disruptions). At that time still there were some Syrian and northern Iraq parts left with some bridges left to construct in those areas.
It will be tricky for Turkey to avoid a crisis leading to war until 1920 though. Many crisis and little conflicts were already brewing when OTL WW1 started in Armenia and Kurdestan, Russia would want to intervene and things could get messy, leading to a WWI type conflict eventually anyway.
It will be tricky for Turkey to avoid a crisis leading to war until 1920 though. Many crisis and little conflicts were already brewing when OTL WW1 started in Armenia and Kurdestan, Russia would want to intervene and things could get messy, leading to a WWI type conflict eventually anyway.
Despite popular conceptions, British firms did make good use of it before the Great War. Is it possible that British capital could be used to complete it? (Obviously assuming the ME remains Ottoman)